Affordable Photography Marketing Strategy | The Modern Photographer’s Guide To Standing Out On A Shoestring Budget

Affordable Photography Marketing Strategy | Many photography enthusiasts decide to make the switch and turn pro without actually realizing what they’re getting themselves into. It should be easy, right? You’ve got mad photography skills, and all your friends and family say you should start a business, so you do! That’s when most photographers realize that starting a business is relatively easy. Turning it into a success story, on the other hand, can turn out to be quite a challenge! After all, taking beautiful photos will take you only so far!

You could be the world’s most talented photographer, but it won’t do you much good unless potential clients actually hear about you and the services you’re offering. After all, we’ve all seen many ridiculously talented photographers start a business, struggle for a couple of months to make ends meet, only to close down their venture. Sounds like a nightmare, but it can be avoided with the right guidance, a bit of effort, and just a pinch of creativity. To help you turn your passion for photography into a profitable business and a steady source of income, we gathered some of the most effective marketing tips you can start implementing into your routine today, regardless of your budget. Let’s dive right in!

Update Your Website! | Affordable Photography Marketing Strategy

Your website is one of your most powerful marketing tools – no matter which strategy you use to reach your potential clients, they’ll all want to check out your work, and a professionally website is the ideal way to help them do just that. Unlike free portfolio platforms, setting up a website for your business will help you leave an impression of a reliable and reputable expert and industry leader, adding a considerable dose of professionalism to your entire strategy, because nothing screams “Amateur!” like running your business off of Tumblr.

However, not all websites are created equal. You’re marketing your services to the millennials, a generation that grew up on social media and glued to their smartphones. If your website is outdated, it might be doing more damage than you think! For example, Flash websites not only take forever to load, but majority of new devices no longer support Flash, which means your flashy website will actually be a blank page when viewed on an iPhone or an iPad. And if that’s not enough to convince you to update your website, it will also negatively affect your search engine rankings, as Flash websites are essentially interactive movie files search engines can’t index.

Set Up A Blog | Affordable Photography Marketing Strategy

One of the most powerful, yet often overlooked tools any business owner can have is the blog! And before you go “Photography is my creative outlet, I don’t need a blog, thank you so very much!” think about all the benefits a blog brings. First, a blog will keep your visitors coming back to your website, even if you do update your portfolio page every 3-6 months. It will also help you improve your search engine rankings, which will mean more web traffic, which in turn might lead to bigger client base.

A regularly updated blog will help you meet a few vital requirements for better rankings. Since search engines index only text, and photography websites are notorious for the lack of text, a blog will allow you to use your target keywords you want to rank high for, and use them in an organic way that appeals to search engines and doesn’t annoy your visitors. The other requirement for better rankings is the frequency of updates. Search engines prefer fresh content, so if the only change is the updated portfolio once or twice a year, you’ll see your rankings take a dive sooner than you think.

Social Media Is A Must | Affordable Photography Marketing Strategy

In addition to search engine optimization, a great way to boost web traffic is by building a solid social media presence. You can use social media to get on the radar of your potential clients and if you combine it with unique content you create for your blog, it will help you build a reputation of a reliable source of information and an industry leader. To get the most of social networks, figure out which ones are most popular among your target audience, create accounts on 3-5 of them and find a way to engage your potential clients. Remember, don’t bombard them with generic sales messages; instead, join the ongoing conversation and try to add value.

Referrals Are Golden | Affordable Photography Marketing Strategy

Photographers, both the beginners and the experienced ones, rely heavily on the word of mouth marketing. After all, there’s no better marketing tool than a satisfied client singing your praises. While many will be happy to refer you on their own, you can get even better results if you offer an incentive – and the best part, the referral rewards don’t have to be anything expensive. In addition to offering a discount, you can also offer a small gift that has high perceived value, but doesn’t cost you too much, like a couple of free prints.

To take your referral strategy to the next level, consider approaching other businesses in your niche or your particular area that are targeting the same audience but offer non-competing services and form a referral network. For example, if you’re a wedding photographer, consider approaching florists, wedding planners, caterers, and so on. They can send their clients your way, and you can offer them a few shots of their products they can use for marketing their services, and make sure to recommend them when a client of yours asks if you know anyone.

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I had been following Media Novak’s work for a while now and was always impressed with their logo work. The logo designs they came up with based on my wishes for what I wanted it to look like were above and beyond what I had imagined. The process itself was smooth and so easy. I gave input and they took it on board and applied it to the next design. I would highly recommend them any day!

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I cannot begin to say enough about Mark & the team at Media Novak. Their customer service has been TOP NOTCH! They have gone way beyond my expectations and dreams and have put together a website for me that I am so proud of… I actually can’t believe that it’s mine! If you are looking for a new website or new branding then look no further… contact these guys today!

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Thank you thank you thank you! I really appreciate all of your help and your quick replies and editing, and well, everything. I will DEFINITELY be referring your team! I love my new logo and I love that it is completely my own and completely encompasses my brand. I really appreciate all of the time and effort your team has put into this project. Thank you again and again!

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I decided to hire Media Novak after seeing a friends logo that I really liked. I sent them my ideas but I actually preferred one of their original concepts over my own ideas! They really understood the look and feel I was trying to achieve and I am delighted with my new logo! I found the process to be really enjoyable and smooth and emails were answered very quickly… a big thumbs up from me!

Karen McGowran – Photographer

Media Novak were helpful and listened to me as the client… never once tried to push their likes onto me… but they do offer good advice. I think what has mattered most to me was once we went live, they were very much still around to iron out little problems that only became noticeable to myself with the daily running of a website and a blog! I would highly recommend them to other businesses!

Jo-Ann Stokes – Photographer

Media Novak designed a beautiful website for me and I’m very satisfied with it. They listened to what I wanted and tailored the site to fit me and I really appreciate that. Their prices are reasonable and the quality is fantastic. I would highly recommend this company.

About Us

MediaNovak is a creative design agency that specializes in web design, online marketing, graphic design and corporate identity solutions. We started our company with some basic ideals—offer our customers exceptional design, while delivering a positive customer experience.

These ideals have helped grow our business and drive customers to our door. A majority of our business comes simply from “word of mouth” referrals—one customer telling another of the experience that we offer here. We consider this the ultimate compliment.